Catalyst
by Ellipsis the Great
Summary: And finally…finally, Edgeworth let go. No pairings.


_**Catalyst**_

_A one-shot by Ellipsis the Great_

_**Summary:** And finally…__finally, Edgeworth let go. No pairings._

_**DISCLAIMER**: Phoenix Wright and everything affiliated with it belongs to Capcom. The story and such is MINE, though, so NO STEALING!_

_**Spoilers**: None beyond the first PW game, I think…_

_**Rated**: K+_

"You…want me to…_accompany_…Detective Gumshoe?" Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth's mouth was twitching ever-so-slightly as he stared blankly at his long-time friend (of sorts), enemy (of sorts), and ally (of sorts), Defense Attorney Phoenix Wright.

"Yeah! I just found out about this a few days ago, and I thought you should see!" Wright said with that annoyingly persistent grin on his face.

"See _what_, exactly?"

"Well…" Wright rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "It's kind of hard to explain. Look, just go with him, okay? Please?"

Edgeworth's eyebrow twitched once. "I see no reason to—"

"Aw, c'mon, Edgeworth!" Wright said. "It's about time you saw him do something he's actually _good_ at, don't you think?"

Edgeworth snorted. "He's actually good at something? According to whom?"

"Just go, Edgeworth. You'll see what I—oh, there he is!" And suddenly Wright was looking past his companion, and waving a greeting to someone else. "Hey! Over here, Detective Gumshoe!"

"Oh, hey, pal!" Detective Dick Gumshoe, in all of his scruffy glory, trotted over to where the two lawyers were standing, smiling uncomfortably at Edgeworth. "And, uh, hello to you, sir."

Edgeworth's lips pressed together into a thin line. "And you, Detective." He said tautly. "Now, if I may ask: what is this 'other job' I've heard about?"

Gumshoe flushed a little, eyes flickering uncertainly between the other two men. "You…erm, don't know, sir?"

"Just take him." Wright sighed, pushing Edgeworth toward the tattered older man. "Just go, Miles." Then, with another wave, he started walking away. "Have fun, guys!"

Gumshoe let out a rather uncharacteristic snort, then sighed and motioned at Edgeworth. "This way, Mr. Edgeworth. I mean…if you don't mind going."

"Hmph." Edgeworth huffed, letting Gumshoe lead him to a car that looked to be on the verge of breaking down, all the while wondering just how low he could take the other man's salary before he would get in trouble with the government. "Could you _possibly_ tell me where we are going?"

"Oh, sure, sir." Gumshoe said, smiling wanly as they got into his car. "See, I sort of volunteered myself for this job…I find families of former John Does—well, Jane Does, too, but today it's a John—and tell them about…about what happened. To their…whoever, I mean."

Edgeworth stared at him.

"It's not the best job, but…well, I've got six sisters, and my dad died when I was in high school, so I got really good at comforting people, especially women. And especially kids, too, because I'm the oldest." Gumshoe paused. "I like comforting people, even though I hate being the reason they need comforting in the first place. But…that's the job, right?"

"Hm." Edgeworth grunted, still staring.

"It's about the only thing I'm good at, I guess." He added, wilting slightly as he continued babbling. "Ma always told me I should be a counselor or something, but I wanted to be a detective like my old man. I like doing it, too, even if I screw up most of the time."

"Hm." Edgeworth said again. An awkward silence fell over them for a moment. "Who…is the John Doe?"

"His name was Victor Timms. He was the last unidentified body found that was attributed to the Torso Murders."

Edgeworth frowned grimly—the Torso Murderer, Will Killagan, was a serial killer he had put away six months prior, charged and convicted of fifteen murders that had been committed over a period of four years, although the man had boasted about up to thirty-five others along a longer period of time. Since he still refused to show them to any of the other bodies, Edgeworth had been unable to prosecute the man for them, but the fifteen they had found were more than enough to make sure Killagan would never…well, kill again.

"We finally tracked down his wife and daughter—they moved in with Timms' father a few weeks after he disappeared. His wife, Karen, was a stay-at-home mom, so after he disappeared she couldn't really afford to do anything but that." Gumshoe continued. "Their little girl was only four when he disappeared—she's six now."

"God." Edgeworth couldn't help but say.

"Yeah." Gumshoe nodded solemnly. "Poor kid. Ah! That's the place."

They pulled into the driveway of a small, cozy looking home that was a faded yellow color with ivy crawling up the sides.

"How were you able to identify the bodies? At the trial, we only had the names of eight of the victims." Edgeworth said.

"It wasn't easy, sir." Gumshoe assured him. "Since…since all we ever found were their bodies."

"I know that." Edgeworth snapped.

The Torso Murderer—the only thing ever found of the victims was their torso. No arms, legs, or heads, and in all but three cases no genitals, either. The photographs were so gruesome that Edgeworth still felt sick to his stomach just thinking about them.

"So?" He prompted as they climbed out of the car.

"I don't know all of the details, sir." Gumshoe said. "I'm just the messenger. My guess would be DNA…maybe Missing Person's Reports, too."

"Right." Edgeworth sighed and crossed his arms over his chest while his companion opened the screen door and used the little knocker.

"The wife's name is Karen, the little girl is Jamie, and Timms' father is Allan." Gumshoe muttered as he stepped back from the door to wait for someone to answer.

"Just a moment, please!" Came a woman's voice from inside. A surprisingly young woman with long, braided blonde hair and dark brown eyes appeared in the doorway. "Can I help you?"

"Hello, ma'am." Gumshoe said. "I'm Detective Dick Gumshoe, and this is Miles Edgeworth. We're here about your husband."

"You found Vic?" She whispered, hope filling her eyes, and stared at them. Gumshoe shifted uncomfortably and Edgeworth stared at a spot just behind her. "I…please, come in."

They followed her into a little living room with a flower-print sofa, a rocking chair, and a few toys scattered about on the floor.

"Sorry about the mess." Karen said as they sat down; she and Gumshoe on the couch while Edgeworth took the rocking chair. "I wasn't really expecting anyone."

"That's fine. It's a lot cleaner than my apartment." Gumshoe said with forced cheerfulness.

Edgeworth snorted involuntarily.

"About my husband? Did you…" She trailed off and took a deep breath. "Is he dead?"

Gumshoe nodded slowly. "Yes, ma'am. He…well, up until recently he was a John Doe."

"A…" She swallowed thickly, then steeled herself up. "Please, Detective, don't try to shelter me. I want to know what happened to my husband."

Gumshoe nodded again. "He was one of the victims of the Torso Murders."

She gasped, tears springing to her eyes as she covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh, God. Oh, God, please no…"

"I'm sorry, ma'am." Gumshoe said gently, moving closer to her and putting a hand on her back.

She choked back a sob. "Were you able to…find anything other than…?"

"No, ma'am." Gumshoe said.

She began to cry, burying her head in her hands and allowing Gumshoe to pull her into a one-arms hug. "Oh, God, Vic. My poor Victor…" Then her head shot up at the sound of a stopping bus. "Jamie! Oh, no, what will I…?" She looked at Gumshoe, her eyes wide. "Please…please, I can't tell her. I can't."

"It's alright, ma'am, I'll tell her." Gumshoe said gently as the door opened.

"Mommy! I'm home!" Came the singing young voice of the obviously boisterous girl who burst into the living room a moment later. She stopped at the sight of the two strangers, cocking her head to one side in a way reminiscent of a confused puppy. Then she saw her mother crying and scowled, little hands balling into fists at her sides as she glared at the newcomers. "How come you made my mommy cry? Tell me now or I'll kick your butt!"

"Jamie, stop that." Karen scolded, sniffling. "They didn't…do anything wrong."

"Then why're you crying, Mommy?" The little girl demanded.

Karen looked at Gumshoe, who stood up off of the couch and knelt in front of Jamie.

"Hi, Jamie, my name's Dick Gumshoe. I'm a detective." He said.

Jamie paused for a moment, then brightened. "You catch bad guys! Like on TV!" She exclaimed.

Gumshoe nodded.

"And you find stuff, right?" She asked ecstatically.

"That's right."

"So you can find my daddy, right?" She asked, practically jumping up and down. "You can find him, and then Mommy won't be sad anymore!"

"That's what I came to talk to you and your mom about, Jamie." He said.

"What do you need to know? I'll tell you everything I can 'member 'bout my daddy!" She said eagerly, eyes wide with excitement.

"Jamie…have you ever known someone who's gone to heaven?" Gumshoe asked.

Jamie's eyebrows furrowed together. "To heaven…?" She thought for a moment, then gasped. "Oh! You mean like Grandma did! She went to heaven 'cause she was really sick, and then Grandpa came to live with me and Mommy and Daddy 'cause he was lonely!"

"Exactly." Gumshoe said. "But…you see, your grandma was getting lonely, too, up in heaven while you and your mom and dad and grandpa were still here. So she asked your daddy to come and keep her company."

She froze, biting her lip. "So…so you mean Daddy…went to heaven…?"

"Mhm."

"But…" Her eyes began to well up with tears. "But why did she ask Daddy? Why not Grandpa?"

"Well, you see…a bad guy, like the ones the detectives on TV catch…he took your daddy away and made him hurt a lot. So your grandma took your daddy up to heaven to get him away from the bad guy, so he wouldn't hurt anymore."

"But you're a detective." She said. "Why didn't you catch the bad guy?"

"I did, but…your daddy had already gone to heaven."

She sniffed loudly. "Can't he come back now that the bad guy's gone?"

"No, sweetie. Once someone goes to heaven, they can't come back." He said.

"Then why did he go?" She asked angrily. "Why did he leave if he can't come back? He has to come back!"

"Jamie, your daddy tried really, really hard to ignore the hurting so that he could come back to you and your mommy, but it got so bad that he _had_ to go up to heaven. Plus, now your Grandma doesn't have to be all by herself anymore."

"But I want my daddy. I want my daddy _here_, so _I_ don't have to be lonely!"

"You've still got your mommy and grandpa, don't you?" He asked. "And besides, Jamie, your daddy isn't really gone."

"He…he isn't?"

"Nope. He's right here." He tapped her chest, over her heart. "As long as you love him, he's never gone. You can just remember him in your heart, and it's like he's back together with you. And one day…a long, long time from now, he and your grandma will come and take you up to heaven, too."

"Can I go now?" She asked.

"If you go now, your mommy and grandpa will be lonely!" He said. "Your daddy wants to wait until you're all grown up before he asks you to come to heaven. I know it seems like a long time to you, but for your daddy it's just a blink of an eye. So you can spend lots of time down here with your mommy and grandpa and all of your friends, and then when you go up to heaven it'll be like your daddy just left!"

"Okay." She hiccuped. "Mr. Detective?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it…is it okay to cry?" She asked, her voice small.

"Of course. It's always okay to cry when someone you love very much has to say goodbye."

As if his words had opened the floodgates, Jamie threw herself into his chest and began to cry bodily. Gumshoe put his arms around her and rocked her back and forth, not saying anything to try and hush her. He just let her cry.

After only a moment, Karen joined them on the floor and opened her arms to her daughter.

"Come here, baby girl." Karen said, holding her daughter close when Jamie tore herself away from Gumshoe and went to her. The two girls started crying together. Karen looked up at Gumshoe as he stood up. "Thank you, Mr. Gumshoe. You don't have to stay anymore—I think I can tell my father-in-law."

Gumshoe nodded, pulling a rather beaten card out of one of his pockets and offering it to her. "If you or Jamie ever have any questions, or just want to talk, I'm just a phone call away! Promise."

She nodded, taking the card and turning back to her daughter.

Edgeworth stood when Gumshoe motioned at him quietly, and the two of them left the house.

The ride was completely silent and somber as they drove back to the station, until they were pulling into the parking lot.

"So…um, what did you think?" Gumshoe asked nervously. "Do you know why Wright made you go, 'cuz I still have no idea…?"

Edgeworth didn't answer, his jaw clenching.

"M-Mr. Edgeworth…sir?"

"Gumshoe." Edgeworth said, then deflated just the tiniest bit. "Tell me…tell me that my father is dead. Like you told that little girl."

Gumshoe frowned, confused. Then his expression softened. "Mr. Edgeworth…"

"Miles." Edgeworth snapped.

"Miles…do you know what it means to go to heaven?" Gumshoe asked softly.

"Yes." Edgeworth gritted out. "My mother died…soon after I was born…"

"Well, your mom was lonely." He said. "So she asked your dad to come keep her company."

"They left me alone." Edgeworth whispered. "They left me all alone."

"Your dad tried to stay." Gumshoe said. "He never wanted to leave you alone, but a bad man made him go."

"I thought it was my fault." Edgeworth choked out as his breath hitched in his throat.

"It wasn't your fault, Miles. It was never your fault." Gumshoe said.

With a strangled sob, Edgeworth began to cry, hunching forward in his seat.

Hesitantly, Gumshoe reached over and pulled him into a hug.

And finally…_finally_, Edgeworth let go.

The End

_Horrible name puns:_

_Will Killagan: The serial killer, Will Killagan. As in 'I will kill again.'_

_Victor Timms: Victor – 'tor' + Timms = Victims. Aren't I clever?_


End file.
